Perl 5

by Example

by David Medinets

---

C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

---

Chapter 1   Getting Your Feet Wet

• Origins
• Similar to C?
• Cost and Licensing
• Do You Have Perl Installed?
• Getting and Installing Perl
• Your First Perl Program
  • Creating the Program
  • Invocation
• Comments in Your Program
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 2   Numeric and String Literals

• Numeric Literals
  • Example: Numbers
• String Literals
  • Example: Single-Quoted Strings
  • Example: Double-Quoted Strings
  • Example: Back-Quoted Strings
• Array Literals
  • Example: Printing an Array
  • Example: Nesting Arrays
  • Example: Using a Range of Values
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 3   Variables

• Scalar Variables
  • Example: Assigning Values to Scalar Variables
  • Changing Values in Scalar Variables
• Array Variables
  • Example: Assigning Values to Array Variables
  • Example: Using Array Elements
  • Example: Using Negative Subscripts
  • Example: Determining the Number of Elements in an Array
  • Example: How to Grab a Slice (or Part) of an Array
• Associative Array Variables
  • Example: Assigning Values to Associative Array Variables
• Double-Quoted Strings Revisited
  • Example: Variable Interpolation
  • Example: Using the $" Special Variable
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 4   Operators

• Operator Types
• The Binary Arithmetic Operators
  • Example: The Exponentiation Operator
  • Example: The Modulus Operator
• The Unary Arithmetic Operators
  • Example: The Pre-iNCrement Operator
  • Example: The Pre-decrement Operator
  • Example: The Post-iNCrement Operator
• The Logical Operators
  • Example: The "AND" Operator (&&)
  • Example: The "OR" Operator (||)
• Example: The "NOT" Operator (!)
• The Bitwise Operators
  • Example: Using the &, |, and ^ Operators
  • Example: Using the >> and << Operators
• The Numeric Relational Operators
  • Example: Using the <=> Operator
• The String Relational Operators
  • Example: Using the cmp Operator
• The Ternary Operator
  • Example: Using the Ternary Operator to Assign Values
• The Range Operator (..)
  • Example: Using the Range Operator
• The String Operators (. and x)
  • Example: Using the CoNCatenation Operator
  • Example: Using the Repetition Operator
• The Assignment Operators
  • Example: Assignment Using Array Slices
  • Example: Assigning an Array to Scalar Variables
• Order of PrecedeNCe
  • Example: Order of PrecedeNCe
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 5   FuNCtions

• Example: Using the Parameter Array (@_)
• Example: Passing Parameters by RefereNCe
• Example: Scope of Variables
• Example: Using a List as a FuNCtion Parameter
• Example: Nesting FuNCtion Calls
• Example: Using a Private FuNCtion
• String FuNCtions
  • Example: Changing a String's Value
  • Example: Searching a String
• Array FuNCtions
  • Example: Printing an Associative Array
  • Example: Checking the ExisteNCe of an Element
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 6   Statements

• Understanding Expressions
• Statement Blocks
• Statement Blocks and Local Variables
• Statement Types
  • Example: Using the if Modifier
  • Example: Using the unless Modifier
  • Example: Using the until Modifier
  • Example: Using the while Modifier
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 7   Control Statements

• Decision Statements
  • Example: The if Statement
• Loop Statements
  • Example: While Loops
  • Example: Until Loops
  • Example: For Loops
  • Example: Foreach Loops
• Jump Keywords
  • Example: The last Keyword
  • Example: The next Keyword
  • Example: The redo Keyword
  • Example: The goto Keyword
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 8   RefereNCes

• RefereNCe Types
  • Example: Passing Parameters to FuNCtions
  • Example: The ref() FuNCtion
  • Example: Creating a Data Record
  • Example: Interpolating FuNCtions Inside Double-Quoted Strings
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 9   Using Files

• Some Files Are Standard
  • Example: Using STDIN
  • Example: Using Redirection to Change STDIN and STDOUT
  • Example: Using the Diamond Operator (<>)
• File Test Operators
  • Example: Using File Tests
• File FuNCtions
  
  • Example: Opening Files
  • Example: Binary Files
  • Example: Getting File Statistics
  • Example: Using the Directory FuNCtions
  • Example: Printing Revisited
• Globbing
  • Example: Assigning a Glob to an Array
• Using Data Structures with Files
  • Example: Splitting a Record into Fields
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 10   Regular Expressions

• Pattern Delimiters
• The Matching Operator (m//)
  • The Matching Options
• The Substitution Operator (s///)
  • The Substitution Options
• The Translation Operator (tr///)
  • The Translation Options
• The Binding Operators (=~ and !~)
• How to Create Patterns
  • Example: Character Classes
  • Example: Quantifiers
  • Example: Pattern Memory
  • Example: Pattern PrecedeNCe
  • Example: Extension Syntax
• Pattern Examples
  • Example: Using the Match Operator
  • Example: Using the Substitution Operator
  • Example: Using the Translation Operator
  • Example: Using the Split() FuNCtion
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 11   Creating Reports

• What's a Format Statement?
  • Example: Using Field Lines
  • Example: Report Headings
  • Example: Using FuNCtions in the Value Line
  • Example: Changing Formats
  • Example: Using Long Pieces of Text in Reports
  • Example: Writing to a File Instead of STDOUT
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 12   Using Special Variables

• What Are the Special Variables?
  • Example: Using the DATA File Handle
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 13   Handling Errors and Signals

• Checking for Errors
• Example: Using the errno Variable
  • Example: Using the or Logical Operator
  • Example: Using the die() FuNCtion
  • Example: Using the warn() FuNCtion
• Trapping Fatal Errors
  • Example: Using the eval() FuNCtion
• What Is a Signal?
  • Example: How to Handle a Signal
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 14   What Are Objects?

• Learning about Classes
• Abstract Thinking
• Overriding Methods with Polymorphism
• Keeping Code and Data Together with ENCapsulation
• How Perl Handles Objects
  • Example: Bless the Hash and Pass the RefereNCe
  • Example: Initializing Properties
  • Example: Using Named Parameters in Constructors
  • Example: InheritaNCe, Perl Style
  • Example: Polymorphism
  • Example: How One Class Can Contain Another
• Static Versus Regular Methods and Variables
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 15   Perl Modules

• Module Constructors and Destructors
  • The BEGIN Block
  • The END Block
• Symbol Tables
• The require Compiler Directive
• The use Compiler Directive
• What's a Pragma?
• The strict Pragma
• The Standard Modules
• strict, my() and Modules
• Module Examples
  • Example: The Carp Module
  • Example: The English Module
  • Example: The Env Module
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 16   Debugging Perl

• Syntax Errors
• Common Syntax Errors
• Logic Errors
  • Using the -w Command-Line Option
  • Being Strict with Your Variables
  • Stepping Through Your Script
  • Examples: Displaying Information
  • Examples: Using the n Command
  • Examples: Using Breakpoints
  • Examples: Creating Command Aliases
  • Examples: Using the Debugger as an Interactive Interpreter
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 17   Using Command-Line Options

• How Are the Options Specified?
• What Are the Options?
  • Example: Using the -0 Option
  • Example: Using the -n and -p Options
  • Example: Using the -i Option
  • Example: Using the -s Option
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 18   Using Internet Protocols

• Sockets
  • The Server Side of a Conversation
  • The Client Side of a Conversation
• Using the Time Service
• Sending Mail (SMTP)
  • The MAIL Command
  • The RCPT Command
  • The DATA Command
  • Reporting Undeliverable Mail
  • Using Perl to Send Mail
• Receiving Mail (POP)
• Checking for Upness (Echo)
• Transferring Files (FTP)
• Reading the News (NNTP)
• The World Wide Web (HTTP)
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 19   What Is CGI?

• Why Use Perl for CGI?
• CGI Apps versus Java Applets
• Should You Use CGI Modules?
• How Does CGI Work?
• Calling Your CGI Program
• Your First CGI Program
• Why Are File Permissions Important in UNIX?
• HTTP Headers
• CGI and Environment Variables
• URL ENCoding
• Security
• CGIwrap and Security
• Cookies
  • Cookie Security
  • How Are Cookies Created and Read?
  • Can a Visitor's Browser Support Cookies?
• Debugging CGI Programs
  • Sending Output to the Server's Log File
  • Sending STDERR to the Web Browser
  • CGITap
  • Generating an Error HTML Page
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 20   Form Processing

• A Brief Overview of HTML
• Server-Side INCludes
• HTML Forms
• Handling Form Information
• Filling in a Form and Mailing the Information
• Debugging Form Processing CGI Scripts
• Creating a Guestbook for Your Site
  • The Basic Guestbook
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Exercises

Chapter 21   Using Perl with Web Servers

• Server Log Files
  • Example: Reading a Log File
  • Example: Listing Access by Document
  • Example: Looking at the Status Code
  • Example: Converting the Report to a Web Page
  • Existing Log File Analyzing Programs
  • Creating Your Own CGI Log File
• Communicating with Users
  • Example: Generating a What's New Page
  • Example: Getting User Feedback
• Summary
• Review Exercises

Chapter 22   Internet Resources

• Usenet Newsgroups
• Web Sites
  • The Perl Language Home Page
  • Pearls of Wisdom by Larry Wall
  • Yahoo
  • The CGI.pm Module
  • Selina Sol's CGI Script Archive
  • The Web Developer's Virtual Library
  • Introduction to CGI
  • Perl for Win32
  • Randal L. Schwartz's Home Page
  • Dale Bewley's Perl Scripts and Links!
  • Matt's Script Archive
  • The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
  • Database API for Perl
  • The CGI Collection
  • HTML Form Processing Modules (HFPM) Home Page
  • PureAmiga
  • MacPerl
  • CGI Scripts and HTML Forms
  • The CGI Documentation by NCSA
  • Miscellaneous Sites
• Internet Relay Chat, or IRC
• Summary

Appendix A   Answers to Review Questions

Appendix B   Glossary

• Abstraction
• Alternation
• Alternative Quotes
• ANChor
• Anonymous FuNCtions and Variables
• ANSI
• Argument
• Array
• Array Context
• Array Range
• Array Slice
• Array Splice
• ASCII
• Assignment
• Associative Array
• Associativity (left-to-right & right-to-left)
• awk
• Backtracking
• Binary Mode
• Bitwise Operations
• Block
• Call by RefereNCe
• Call by Value
• Character Classes
• Child Process
• Class
• Client/Server
• Command-Line Options
• Compiler
• Compile-Time Error
• CoNCatenation
• Constant
• Constructor
• Context (Array & Scalar)
• Control Characters
• CR
• Database
• Data Type
• Debugger
• Declaration
• Deconstructor
• Defined
• Delimiter
• DerefereNCe
• Detail Line
• Diamond Operator
• Directory
• Dotted Decimal Address
• Empty Strings, Arrays, Lists, and Hashes
• ENCapsulation
• ENCryption
• Endless Loop
• Environment Variables
• EOF
• Escape SequeNCe
• Expression
• FF
• Field
• Filehandle
• Footer
• Formats
• ftp
• FuNCtion
• Globbing
• Greedy Regular Expressions
• Grep
• Hash
• Header
• Here Documents
• Hexadecimal
• Infinite Loop
• InheritaNCe
• Initialization
• Interpolation
• Interpreter
• Inter-process Communication
• I/O
• IPC
• Key-Value Pair
• Label
• LF
• Library
• List
• Literal
• Loop
• Meta Characters
• Module
• Namespace
• Object
• Octal
• Operator
• Parameter
• Polymorphism
• Port
• PrecedeNCe
• Procedure
• Protocol
• Range
• Record
• RefereNCe
• Regular Expression
• Return Value
• Run-Time Error
• Scalar
• Scalar Context
• Scope
• Short-Circuit Operators
• Signals
• Slice
• Socket
• Splice
• Stack
• Statement
• STDERR, STDIN, and STDOUT
• Subroutine
• Text Mode
• Undefined Value
• Variable
• Whitespace

Appendix C   FuNCtion List

• FuNCtions by Category
• FuNCtions by Name
  • abs([EXPR])
  • accept (NEWSOCKET, GENERICSOCKET)
  • alarm (NUM_OF_SECONDS)
  • atan2 ([EXPR])
  • bind (SOCKET, NAME)
  • binmode (FILEHANDLE)
  • bless (REFERENCE, [CLASSNAME])
  • caller ([EXPR])
  • chdir ([DIRNAME])
  • chmod (MODE, LIST)
  • chomp ([STRING | LIST])
  • chop ([STRING | LIST])
  • chown (NUMERICAL_UID, NUMERICAL_GID, LIST)
  • chr (NUMBER)
  • chroot (DIR_NAME)
  • close (FILEHANDLE)
  • closedir (DIRHANDLE)
  • connect (SOCKET, NAME)
  • cos ([EXPR])
  • crypt (TEXT, SALT)
  • dbmclose (HASH)
  • dbmopen (HASH, DATABASE_NAME, MODE)
  • defined (EXPR)
  • delete (EXPR)
  • die ([LIST])
  • do (SCRIPTNAME)
  • dump ([LABEL])
  • each (HASH)
  • endgrent ( )
  • endhostent ( )
  • endnetent ( )
  • endprotoent ( )
  • endpwent ( )
  • endservent ( )
  • eof ([FILEHANDLE])
  • eval ([EXPR | BLOCK])
  • exec (LIST)
  • exists (EXPR)
  • exit ([EXPR])
  • exp ([EXPR])
  • fcntl (FILEHANDLE, FUNCTION, PACKED_FLAGS)
  • fileno (FILEHANDLE)
  • flock (FILEHANDLE, OPERATION_FLAGS)
  • fork ( )
  • formline (PICTURE, LIST)
  • getc ([FILEHANDLE])
  • getgrent ( )
  • getgrgid (GID)
  • getgrname (NAME)
  • gethostbyaddr (ADDRESS, AF_INIT)
  • gethostbyname (NAME, [PROTOCOL])
  • gethostent ( )
  • getlogin ( )
  • getnetbyaddr (ADDRESS, ADDR_TYPE)
  • getnetbyname (NAME)
  • getnetent ( )
  • getpeername (SOCKET)
  • getpgrp (PID)
  • getppid ( )
  • getpriority (WHICH, WHO)
  • getprotobyname (NAME)
  • getprotobynumber (NUMBER)
  • getprotoent ( )
  • getpwent ( )
  • getpwnam (NAME)
  • getpwuid (UID)
  • getservbyname (NAME, PROTOCOL)
  • getservbyport (PORT_NUMBER, PROTOCOL)
  • getservent ( )
  • getsockname (SOCKET)
  • getsockopt (SOCKET, LEVEL, OPTNAME)
  • glob (EXPR)
  • gmtime ([EXPR])
  • grep (BLOCK | EXPR, LIST)
  • hex (EXPR)
  • import ( )
  • index (STRING, SUBSTRING, [POSITION])
  • int ([EXPR])
  • ioctl (FILEHANDLE, FUNCTION, SCALAR)
  • join (EXPR, LIST)
  • keys (HASH)
  • kill (SIGNAL, LIST)
  • lc (EXPR)
  • lcfirst (EXPR)
  • length ([EXPR])
  • link (OLD_FILE, NEW_FILE)
  • listen (SOCKET, QUEUESIZE)
  • local (LIST)
  • localtime ([EXPR])
  • log ([EXPR])
  • lstat (FILEHANDLE | EXPR)
  • map (BLOCK | EXPR, LIST)
  • mkdir (FILENAME, [MODE])
  • msgctl (ID, COMMAND, ARG)
  • msgget (KEY, FLAGS)
  • msgrcv (QUEUE_ID, BUFFER, BUFFER_SIZE, TYPE, FLAGS)
  • msgsnd (QUEUE_ID, BUFFER, FLAGS)
  • my (LIST)
  • oct ([EXPR])
  • open (FILEHANDLE | EXPR | FILENAME)
  • opendir (DIRHANDLE, EXPR | DIRNAME)
  • ord ([EXPR])
  • pack (TEMPLATE, LIST)
  • pipe (READHANDLE, WRITEHANDLE)
  • pop (ARRAY_VARIABLE)
  • pos ([SCALAR])
  • print [FILEHANDLE] ([LIST])
  • printf [FILEHANDLE] (FORMAT, LIST)
  • push (ARRAY, LIST)
  • q (LIST)
  • qq (LIST)
  • quotemeta (EXPR)
  • qw (LIST)
  • qx (LIST)
  • rand ([EXPR])
  • read (FILEHANDLE, BUFFER, LENGTH, [OFFSET])
  • readdir (DIRHANDLE)
  • readlink ([EXPR])
  • recv (SOCKET, BUFFER, LENGTH, FLAGS)
  • ref (EXPR)
  • rename (OLDNAME, NEWNAME)
  • reset ([EXPR])
  • reverse (LIST)
  • rewinddir (DIRHANDLE)
  • rindex (STRING, SUBSTRING, [POSITION])
  • rmdir ([DIRNAME])
  • scalar (EXPR)
  • seek (FILEHANDLE, POSITION, WHENCE)
  • seekdir (DIRHANDLE, POS)
  • select ([FILEHANDLE])
  • select (RBITS, WBITS, EBITS, TIMEOUT)
  • semctl (ID, SEMNUM, CMD, ARG)
  • semget (KEY, NSEMS, FLAGS)
  • semop (KEY, OPSTRING)
  • send (SOCKET, BUFFER, FLAGS, [TO])
  • setgrent ( )
  • sethostent (STAYOPEN)
  • setnetent (STAYOPEN)
  • setpgrp (PID, PGRP)
  • setpriority (WHICH, WHO, PRIORITY)
  • setprotoent (STAYOPEN)
  • setpwent
  • setservent (STAYOPEN)
  • setsockopt (SOCKET, LEVEL, OPTNAME, OPTVAL)
  • shift ([ARRAY])
  • shmctl (ID, CMD, ARG)
  • shmget (KEY, SIZE, FLAGS)
  • shmread (ID, BUFFER, POS, SIZE)
  • shmwrite (ID, BUFFER, POS, SIZE)
  • shutdown (SOCKET, HOW)
  • sin ([EXPR])
  • sleep ([NUM_SECONDS_TO_SLEEP])
  • socket (SOCKET, DOMAIN, TYPE, PROTOCOL)
  • socketpair (SOCKET1, SOCKET2, DOMAIN, TYPE, PROTOCOL)
  • sort ([SUBNAME | BLOCK], LIST)
  • splice (ARRAY, OFFSET, [LENGTH], [LIST])
  • split ([/PATTERN/], [EXPR], [LIMIT])
  • sprintf (FORMAT, LIST)
  • sqrt ([EXPR])
  • srand ([EXPR])
  • stat (FILEHANDLE | EXPR)
  • study ([SCALAR])
  • substr (EXPR, OFFSET, [LEN])
  • symlink (OLDFILE, NEWFILE)
  • syscall (LIST)
  • sysopen (FILEHANDLE, FILENAME, MODE, [PERMISSIONS])
  • sysread (FILEHANDLE, BUFFER, LENGTH, [OFFSET])
  • system (LIST)
  • syswrite (FILEHANDLE, BUFFER, LENGTH, [OFFSET])
  • tell ([FILEHANDLE])
  • telldir (DIRHANDLE)
  • tie (VARIABLE, PACKAGENAME, LIST)
  • tied (VARIABLE)
  • time ( )
  • times ( )
  • truNCate (FILEHANDLE | EXPR, LENGTH)
  • uc (EXPR)
  • ucfirst (EXPR)
  • umask ([EXPR])
  • undef ([EXPR])
  • unlink (LIST)
  • unpack (TEMPLATE, EXPR)
  • unshift (ARRAY, LIST)
  • untie (VARIABLE)
  • utime (AccESS_TIME, MODIFICATION_TIME, LIST)
  • values (HASH)
  • vec (EXPR, OFFSET, NUM_BITS)
  • wait ( )
  • waitpid (PID, FLAGS)
  • wantarray ( )
  • warn ([LIST])
  • write ([FILEHANDLE | EXPR])

Appendix D   Using the Registry

• Registry Files
  • How to Back Up the Registry
  • How to Restore the Registry
• Using the Registry
  • Opening an Existing Key
  • Creating a New Key
  • Finding a Key's Value
  • Setting a Key's Name-Value Pairs
  • Getting a List of Subkeys
  • Getting a List of Name-Value Pairs
• Some Common Uses for the Registry
  • Creating a File Association
  • Setting the Icon for a File Extension
  • Enabling the 'new' Context Menu Option
• Summary

Credits

---

Copyright? 1996 by Que Corporation.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. For information, address Que Corporation, 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290. You may reach Que's direct sales line by calling 1-800-428-5331.

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Editorial Services Director	Elizabeth Keaffaber	Managing Editor	Sandy Doell
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---

About the Author

David Medinets has been programming since 1980, when he started with a TRS-80 Model 1. He still fondly remembers the days when he could crosswire the keyboard to create funny-looking characters on the display. SiNCe those days, he has spent time debugging Emacs on UNIX machines, working on VAXen, and messing around with DOS microcomputers. David is married to Kathryn and lives in northwest New Jersey. He runs Eclectic Consulting and has coauthored Special Edition Using Lotus Notes Release 4 (Que), Special Edition Using Turbo C++ 4.5 for Windows (Que), Microsoft Office 95 Unleashed (Sams), and Visual Basic Unleashed (Sams), among others. David can be reached at medined@planet.net.

Acknowledgments

I'd like to thank all of the people at Que for making this book possible. You'll find their names listed on the Credits page, so I won't list them all here. Susan Ross Moore deserves special thanks for figuratively watching over my shoulder as I worked. Her comments definitely made this a better book. Al Valvano was instrumental in making sure that everything came together at the proper time.

My wonderful wife deserves some thanks for letting me hang out on the Internet at all hours of the day and night while I did research for this book.

While writing this book, I have gleaned information from many books, articles, and Web resources. Where a particular item greatly influeNCed my thinking, I have given credit in the appropriate section.

Dale Bewley helped to create Chapter 19, "What Is CGI?"-Thanks Dale!

And of course, no Perl author should forget to thank: Larry Wall for creating Perl in the first place; Tom Christiansen for his remarkable contributions to the Perl community; and Randal Schwartz for his Learning Perl book which every Perl programmer seems to have read.

Thanks,
David

We'd Like to Hear from You!

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You can mail comments, ideas, or suggestions for improving future editions to the address below, or send us a fax at (317) 581-4663. Our staff and authors are available for questions and comments through our Internet site, at http://www.mcp.com/que, and Macmillan Computer Publishing also has a forum on CompuServe (type GO QUEBOOKS at any prompt).

In addition to exploring our forum, please feel free to contact me personally to discuss your opinions of this book: I'm avalvano@que.mcp.com on the Internet, and 74671,3710 on CompuServe.

Thanks in advaNCe-your comments will help us to continue publishing the best books available on new computer technologies in today's market.

Introduction

This book is based on the learn-by-doing priNCiple because I believe that simply reading about a subject makes it harder to learn. After all, you don't read about putting together a jigsaw puzzle; you put the puzzle together yourself! Programming is the same way. You must actually run some programs in order to really understand the coNCepts.

Perl 5 By Example will teach you how to use the Perl programming language by showing examples that demonstrate the coNCepts being discussed. The examples are designed to give you a chaNCe to experiment-which in turn should clarify the material.

Additional information and errata pages can be found at http://www.mtolive. com/pbe/index.html.

The topics are covered in a straightforward, nontechnical manner, which allows you to quickly understand the fundamental priNCiples. After the main topic of each chapter is introduced, subtopics are explored in their own sections. Each section has its own Perl examples with explanations given in pseudocode.

Each chapter finishes with review questions of varying difficulty based on the material in that chapter. The answers usually come from the text or are deducible from the text, but occasionally you might need to experiment a little. Try to answer the questions at all difficulty levels. If you get stuck turn to the answers provided in Appendix A. Also, look at the summary sections after reading each chapter and return to them frequently. After you've gone through several chapters, you'll begin to understand more often the reason why a coNCept was illustrated or a question was asked. Returning to questions that frustrated you earlier and realizing that now you know the answers can be a big confideNCe builder.

Who Should Use This Book?

Perl 5 By Example should be read by anyone seeking to learn Perl. If you don't know any other programming languages, Chapters 2 through 7 will give you a solid introduction to the basics. If you already know another language, then skip Chapters 2 through 7 to see how Perl differs from other languages and start with Chapter 8, "RefereNCes."

This book follows a simple format. Each chapter contains a single topic-usually. First, you read about the topic and then you see examples that let you work directly with Perl to understand how the coNCepts can be applied to a program. At the end of each chapter is a summary, followed by review questions and exercises.

This approach is designed to serve a broad range of readers from novice to advaNCed. If you've never programmed before, the learn-by-doing approach will help you move quickly and easily though this book. If you have programming experieNCe, you'll find plenty of material to refine and enhaNCe what you already know, and to give you a solid understanding of how Perl works.

What Do I Need?

In order to effectively use this book you need two things. You need a working copy of Perl 5. And you need a text editor. That's it.

You can use the examples in this book with just about any hardware and operating system. I'm not sure that they would work on an Amiga system but other than that you should be able to run every example.

How to Use This Book

There are several ways to use this book. One obvious method is to begin at the first page and proceed in order until the last. Most beginning programmers will use this method and the book is specifically designed so that each chapter builds on the last. Alternatively, you can read up to Chapter 10, "Regular Expressions," and then skip to Appendix C, "FuNCtion List." You can then read specific chapters as needed when your projects demand them. Either approach works.

Tip

It is critical to read through the FuNCtion List (Appendix C) at least oNCe before starting any major project. Otherwise, you might spend hours developing a fuNCtion that Perl already has predefined.

Code Listings

Many readers prefer to type in most of the example code by hand; this helps them focus on the code one line at a time. Another good approach is to work through an example in a chapter, close the book, and enter it by hand from memory. The struggle that you experieNCe will help to deepen your understanding. Remember, getting lost can be how you learn to find your way.

If you're lazy, can't type fast, or are prone to wrist pains like some of my friends, you can copy the listings from the CD-ROM that is iNCluded at the back of this book. Each listing that is on the CD-ROM has a listing header like this:

Listing 10.1  10LST01.PL-This Is a Sample Listing Header

The name of the Perl source file will always be the same as the listing's number.

After each example, experiment a little and see what happens. Change a few things, or add a couple, and change the code a bit. This will help you enjoy the learning experieNCe more. The most important attribute of a successful learning experieNCe is fun. If it is fun and you enjoy it, you will stay with it longer.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this book:

• Code line, fuNCtions, variable names, and any text you see on-screen appear in a special monospace typeface.
• File names are also set in a monospace typeface.
• New terms are in italic.
• Case is very important in Perl programming. Always pay attention to uppercase and lowercase in variable and fuNCtion names.
• If you are required to type text, the text you must type will appear in boldface. For example, "Type perl -w test.pl." Usually, however, the line is set off by itself in a monospace typeface, as shown in the following example: perl -w test.pl

Icons Used in This Book

Pseudocode is a special way of explaining a section of code with an understandable, English language description. You often see pseudocode before a code example. The following icon represents pseudocode:

Overview

Part I, "Basic Perl," consists of the first eight chapters of this book. These chapters discuss the fundamentals of Perl. Chapter 1, "Getting Your Feet Wet," presents a short history of Perl and lets you create and execute your first Perl program. Chapter 2, "Numeric and String Literals," tells you how to explicitly represent non-changeable information in your program. Chapter 3, "Variables," shows how to represent changeable information. Then Chapter 4, "Operators," discusses how to change the information. Chapter 5, "FuNCtions," discusses how to create parcels of code that you can call or execute by name. Chapter 6, "Statements," dives deep into exactly what the term statement means to Perl. Chapter 7, "Control Statements," shows how different statements can be used to control your programs. Chapter 8, "RefereNCes," completes the introduction to Perl basics by taking a peek into the world of data structures.

The next three chapters make up Part II, "Intermediate Perl." These chapters contain valuable information that will let you create powerful, complete applications. Chapter 9, "Using Files," discusses how files can be used to store and retrieve information. Chapter 10, "Regular Expressions," highlights one of Perl's most useful abilities-pattern matching. Chapter 11, "Creating Reports," shows you how to present information in a structured way using Perl's inherent reporting ability.

Part III, "AdvaNCed Perl," discusses some of the more difficult aspects of Perl. Chapter 12, "Using Special Variables," lists all of the special variables that you use in Perl and shows examples of the more useful ones. Chapter 13, "Handling Errors and Signals," introduces the coNCept of error handling. Chapter 14, "What Are Objects?," discusses the wonderful world of object-oriented programming. Chapter 15, "Perl Modules," shows you how to create your own modules to aid in reusing existing fuNCtions. Chapter 16, "Debugging Perl," helps you to find the bugs or problems in your programs. Chapter 17, "Using the Command-Line Options," lists all of the options that you can use on the command line that starts Perl.

Part IV, "Perl and the Internet," consists of five chapters that look at how Perl can be used with the Internet. Chapter 18, "Using Internet Protocols," discusses several of the protocols commonly used on the Internet-such as FTP, SMTP, and POP. Chapter 19, "What Is CGI?," eases you into writing scripts that can be executed by remote users. Chapter 20, "Form Processing," discusses HTML forms and how Perl scripts can process form information. Chapter 21, "Using Perl with Web Servers," examines Web server log file and how to create HTML Web pages using Perl. Chapter 22, "Internet Resources," lists several types of Perl resources that are available on the Internet-such as Usenet Newsgroups, Web sites, and the #perl and #cgi IRC channels.

Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions," contains answers to the review questions that are at the end of every chapter. Try not to peek! Appendix B, "Glossary," lists definitions for some words you might be unfamiliar with. Appendix C, "FuNCtion List," contains a list of Perl's many fuNCtions. Appendix D, "Using the Registry," introduces you to the Registry database used by Windows 95 and Windows NT to store system and application information. Appendix E, "ASCII Table," shows you all of the ASCII codes and their corresponding characters. Appendix F, "What's on the CD?," describes the contents of the CD.

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